A New Era in European Space Exploration and Technologies
Comment by Prof Nigel Mason, Europlanet Research Infrastructure Coordinator.
At the recent Ministerial meeting held in Bremen, Germany, on 26-27 November 2025, ESA obtained outstanding support from its Member states with a record budget of €22.3bn — a 31% increase in budget that is envisaged to be some 17% ahead of inflation. This budget ensures support for key science, exploration and technology programmes alongside a significant increase in the budget of space applications (Earth observation, navigation and telecommunications).
This announcement is good news for our community — indeed planetary and Solar System science is well represented in the core missions and programmes ESA plans for the next decades. ESA will deliver the missions described by the Cosmic Vision long-term plan, including the Rosalind Franklin Mars rover (with a launch date in 2028) and Envision to Venus, as well as preparing missions to the Moon, the most important being the Argonaut lander. Funding is allocated to support a new and highly ambitious mission to search for life on Enceladus with the large-class ‘L4’ mission to Saturn and its moons. The technology to support this programme and ESA’s other innovative missions will be developed using a substantially strengthened budget for technology enablers, critical components, digitalisation and emerging technologies
Three important missions account for the majority of funding in space safety and security: Ramses, Rise and Vigil. The Ramses mission, to be built on a tight schedule to intercept the asteroid Apophis on its close encounter with Earth in 2029 is funded, and will help to prepare for future potentially hazardous asteroids. The Vigil space weather mission is expected to undergo preliminary design review early next year. To reduce waste in space in the future, the testing of on-orbit servicing will be funded through Rise, a partnership with industry. In addition, the Moonlight programme will develop lunar communications and navigations services.
In a reflection of the times we are living in, the ESA budget must also address the critical role of space in security and resilience. Indeed, we must address the need for space infrastructures and research to be increasingly ‘dual use’ with a defence as well as a civil role. In an historic change for ESA, significant funding will go towards the use of space applications for non-aggressive defence. A letter of intent has been signed with Poland to examine the possibility of hosting a new centre specialising in security and dual-use/multi-use applications.
Thus, there is much in the ESA plans that will secure Europe at the forefront of space exploration and technologies. However, this will require a strong, integrated and well-organised planetary community, and this is an area where Europlanet can play a unique role. Indeed, in early 2026 Europlanet will hold meetings with ESA Science and Human and Robotic Exploration teams to discuss how our community can help support ESA in delivering its ambitious mission.
There has never been a better time for you as individuals and your institutions to join Europlanet to help deliver the future of space exploration and technologies!
The ‘Tea on The Moon‘ team met with Europlanet colleagues at the University of Kent to discuss the status of the project and future plans. Project collaborator, Maarten Roos, visited from the Netherlands on Friday 31 October.
The team of interdisciplinary scientists toured the plant labs, X-ray Diffraction, Ramen Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscope, Space Simulation Chamber, Origins of Life and Light Gas Gun facilities at the University of Kent.
Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement 2025 Awarded to RECA Educación
The 2025 Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement has been awarded to Red de Estudiantes Colombianos en Astronomía (RECA) Educación, a Colombian non-profit network of volunteers that aims to bring science, astronomy and planetary science to schools and communities across Colombia.
RECA Educación representatives Laura Ramirez Galeano and Natalia Oliveros received the prize, which comes with a cash award of €1000, and gave a lecture during the opening ceremony of the joint meeting of Europlanet Science Congress and the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Science (EPSC-DPS2025) in Helsinki.
Thibaut Roger, presenting the prize on behalf of Europlanet, said: “RECA is an inspirational organisation that carries out impactful work to engage communities and groups in remote and rural areas where access to science education can be extremely limited. Through the Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement, we are proud to recognise the importance of the volunteer work from RECA and its approach of combining rigorous science with culturally sensitive and inclusive teaching methods. They are a model for what astronomy outreach can achieve when driven by equity, passion and purpose.”
The RECA association, founded in 2012, seeks to create and maintain strong links among Colombian astronomy students in the country and around the world. One of RECA’s main goals is to build a collaborative community of early-career and professional astronomers to strengthen the country’s scientific development and foster long-term academic growth. Since 2021, the educational node, RECA Educación, has spearheaded a public scientific outreach programme that deploys online communications to construct a bridge between professional scientists and school students across the country, including in the most rural communities.
RECA Educación has developed multiple projects such as La Astronomía va a tu colegio (Astronomy Talks in Your School), Remote Observations in partnership with Shadow the Scientists, drawing contests, and BARCO (Bringing Astronomy to Rural Communities). The network currently reaches hundreds of schools in all 32 regions of Colombia, as well as participating in international collaborations to connect schools with scientists around the world.
The RECA team is composed primarily of young scientists and students, who are passionate about making science a right, not a privilege. Despite limited resources, they have developed creative and inclusive formats for delivering astronomy content, including storytelling sessions and hands-on experiments adapted for the home or classroom.
On receiving the prize, Ramirez Galeano said: “We are truly honoured to receive the Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement 2025. It brings us great joy and motivation to know that our efforts to bring astronomy and planetary science to underserved and often overlooked communities are appreciated at such a level.”
As a next step, with the support of the Europlanet prize funding, RECA Educación aims to distribute to schools across Colombia copies of Salomé, a comic-based educational initiative that introduces children to exoplanets and the scientific method in an engaging, narrative-driven format. The team also plans to develop complementary workshops, and train teachers to use the Salomé comic as an accessible entry point to planetary science.
Images
Laura Ramirez Galeano and Natalia Oliveros receiving the Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement 2025 on behalf of RECA Educación at EPSC-DPS2025 in Helsinki, Finland. Credit: Europlanet.
We are a network that wants to unite and link Colombian astronomy students with professionals and aspiring astronomers.
Mission: Teach astronomy in Colombia at all educational levels, with the support of RECA’s professional astronomers. All resources we offer are free of charge for the benefit of school students and teachers.
Vision: To be a support for schools in their educational challenges of astronomy and a reference for the new generations of all the regions of Colombia.
Recognise achievements in engaging European citizens with planetary science, promoting inspiration, learning and social responsibility.
Raise the profile of public engagement and education as valued activities within the scientific community.
About the Joint Meeting of the Europlanet Science Congress and the Division of Planetary Sciences (EPSC-DPS)
The Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC), established in 2006 as the European Planetary Science Congress, is the largest planetary science meeting in Europe. It covers the entire range of planetary sciences, with an extensive mix of talks, workshops and poster sessions, as well as providing a unique space for networking and exchanges of experiences.
EPSC joined forces for the first time with the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) for a joint meeting in Nantes, France, in 2011. This was followed by DPS-EPSC 2016 in Pasadena, EPSC-DPS 2019 in Geneva, and the return to the United States for the DPS-EPSC 2023 meeting in San Antonio. This year marks the third iteration of a joint European-based meeting. The intent of the joint meetings is not only to connect the European and North American planetary science communities, but also to consolidate two major meetings and motivate planetary scientists from all over the globe to attend. With over 1800 participants joining in person and online, EPSC-DPS2025 is the largest planetary science meeting held to date in Europe. https://www.epsc-dps2025.eu
Follow on social media (Bluesky, X and LinkedIn) with the hashtag #EPSC-DPS2025 for updates on the meeting.
About Europlanet
Europlanet (europlanet.org) is a non-profit association and membership organisation that provides the planetary science community with access to research infrastructure, services and training. The Europlanet Association Sans But Lucratif (AISBL), established in 2023, builds on the heritage of a series of projects funded by the European Commission between 2005 and 2024 (Grant Numbers 871149, 654208, 228319 and RICA-CT-2004-001637) to support the planetary science community in Europe and around the world.
About the DPS
The Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS), founded in 1968, is the largest special-interest Division of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). Members of the DPS study the bodies of our own solar system, from planets and moons to comets and asteroids, and all other solar-system objects and processes. With the discovery that planets exist around other stars, the DPS has expanded its scope to include the study of extrasolar planetary systems as well. The American Astronomical Society (AAS), established in 1899, is the major organization of professional astronomers in North America. The mission of the AAS is to enhance and share humanity’s scientific understanding of the universe as a diverse and inclusive astronomical community, which it achieves through publishing, meeting organization, science advocacy, education and outreach, and training and professional development.
The EPEC Committee and EPEC Annual Week Local Organising Committee (LOC) are pleased to announce that the 7th edition of Annual Week will be held in person at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin in May 2025. Applications are now officially open!
Details
Dates: 19 – 23 May 2025 Venue: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany Registration period: 21st March – 19th April 2025
The EPEC Annual Week is an opportunity for the EPEC community to better get to know each other, to strengthen their connections with the international science community in a conference exclusively catered to early careers. The programme for EPEC Annual Week 2025 (EPEC AW25) consists of science talks, invited speakers and a chance for our members to present their work in a low-stakes setting to build their confidence and scientific communication skills. Furthermore, the school brings together scientists from different career stages to provide a networking platform where science discussion and collaboration are stimulated via a series of group activities.
Programme for EPEC AW25
The theme for this year focuses on academic and industrial current topics, with a particular focus on planetary missions and as ever, building your network within the planetary community.
Here’s a snapshot of what to expect:
Talks and workshops – Experts from their respective fields will be delivering seminars on topics from mission involvement, planetary protection, machine learning to those who have transitioned into industry.
Laboratory visits – Participants get the opportunity to visit the world class laboratories at DLR, Berlin.
Visit to the Archenhold-Sternwarte Planetarium and Natural History Museum in Berlin.
For more information and a preliminary programme, please visit the Annual Week 2025 webpage.
Eligibility
Participants must be enrolled in a B.Sc., M.Sc. course (or equivalent), be currently enrolled in a Ph.D. programme in the field of planetary/space science or have obtained their Ph.D. qualification no more than seven years ago. Note that in order to apply to the training school you are NOT required to be a member of EPEC, although this is encouraged.
Registration
To submit your application, please complete this registration form by the 19th of April.
Successful applicants will be notified via e-mail within a week after the submission deadline. In case of any queries or problems related to the application procedure, please send an email to epec.network@gmail.com, including “EPEC Annual Week Application” in the subject.
The competition is open to all space enthusiasts, including children, members of the public, schools and clubs, as well as professional or amateur planetary scientists with a passion for the arts.
The theme for 2024 is “Returing to Earth”. With missions like OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 in the headlines, this year’s contest looks at ideas around returning to Earth samples and clues on the origin of our Solar system and life! Show us how you have been inspired to create drawings, storytelling, pictures, videos, stop-motion animations, models, craft works or art installations at home.
To enter the contest, fill in the submission form. In the form, you will be asked to upload your photo or provide link to your video on YouTube or Vimeo. Make sure that the link to your video is working and is accessible to external people or your submission will not be evaluated.
If you want to submit storytelling or poetry, send a photo or image with the text, or make a short video of you performing your work or reading it with accompanying visuals.
You have the option to provide a pseudonym if you would like your artwork to be credited to another name (for instance your social media handle) when displayed online or in our gallery.
The videos and images may be shared in Europlanet outreach activities aimed at the general public and schools and via our social media channels.
The submission form allows a maximum 10 MB file size to be uploaded. If your art requires a larger file size, please email stavro.ivanovski@inaf.it for further instructions before submitting the form.
For photo submissions, JPG, GIF (including animated GIF) or PNG formats are accepted. For video artworks, you will need to upload your video file to a sharing platform (Youtube, Vimeo, etc) so we recommend that you use a format accepted by the majority of platforms (the most common formats are .AVI and .MP4). This link has useful information on preparing videos to share on social media.
Are there any specific requirements for the content?
If you are using illustrations that you have not created yourself you must check that you have the necessary permissions and include the correct credits. There are no fixed templates, so be creative!
Choose a good title for your artwork to help us understand your inspirations and make your submission stand out.
You can use whatever device you have available to record your video – your phone, your laptop, a camera… it’s up to you. You can edit, adapt and add as many (or few) effects as you wish.
All artworks will be accessible through a dedicated online gallery on the Europlanet website. All artworks submitted will be considered by a panel of planetary scientists and artists. (Depending on entry numbers we may split into age/topic/type categories.) We will evaluate the submissions in each particular category according to the following criteria: inspiring idea, performance, original content and clarity.
All participants will be named Europlanet Participating Artists and featured on our website.
Art is meant to inspire. Art is meant to be shared. Art allows us to go beyond our limits. Planetary science takes us beyond the limits of our world. This year’s theme is “Returning to Earth”. Let your imagination take us on a voyage through our Solar System and back to Earth! Show us how you have been inspired to create drawings, storytelling, pictures, videos, stop-motion animations, models, craft works or art installations at home. Get creative with InspiredByOtherWorlds!
Space Industry Leaders, Policy Makers, and Enthusiasts,
We are thrilled to extend an invitation to the 16th European Space Conference, the premier event in the space industry calendar. Scheduled for 23-24 January 2024, this pivotal conference will be held at the SQUARE Brussels, with an option to participate online for those unable to join us in person.
Dynamic Programme of the Conference – 23 January 2024:
The first day of the conference promises a rich tapestry of sessions, keynotes, and dialogues, meticulously designed to catalyze progress in European space policy and industry.
Main Sessions: Delve into a series of comprehensive sessions covering a wide array of topics at the forefront of space technology and policy. These sessions are crafted to reflect the current challenges and opportunities in the space sector.
Keynote Addresses: Be inspired by a lineup of distinguished speakers. These keynote addresses will be delivered by prominent figures in the space industry, offering profound insights into the future of space exploration and technology.
One-to-One Dialogues: Witness engaging and insightful one-to-one dialogues between key personalities from various facets of the space domain. These intimate conversations are designed to provide deeper understanding and diverse perspectives on pressing space issues.
Targeted Theme Sessions: Participate in specific sessions focusing on targeted themes. These discussions will feature key personalities from the European space domain, including high-level representatives from EU institutions, Member States, the European Space Agency, national space agencies, and the European industry.
Networking Opportunities: Connect with industry peers, policy makers, and space enthusiasts. Exchange ideas, forge new partnerships, and collaborate with experts and innovators from across the globe.
Exhibitions: Explore a range of exhibits showcasing cutting-edge space technologies and services, presented by leading companies and emerging startups in the space sector.
This year’s European Space Conference is not just a gathering; it’s a crucible where ideas meet innovation, and policy meets practice. Your presence will contribute significantly to shaping the European space policy landscape for years to come.
Registration and Additional Information:
For more details on the event, registration, speakers, and accommodations, please visit the website.
Europlanet Society’s Discord get-togethers are informal, weekly sessions aimed at fostering community, facilitating conversation, and promoting engagement among our members. Unlike formal meetings, these get-togethers provide a relaxed environment for everyone – from newcomers to long-standing members – to interact, share knowledge, and stay updated on the latest within Europlanet Society.
When and Where?
The get-togethers occur weekly on Fridays and are hosted on our Discord server. Currently, they are held at 12:30–13:30 Paris time, a slot chosen to accommodate the various time zones across Europe. This timing is open to adjustment based on member feedback.
Who Can Attend?
These get-togethers are open to all Europlanet Society members. If you’re not yet a member but are interested in planetary science, consider joining the Europlanet Society to take part.
What’s On the Agenda?
Each week features something different. Topics can range from presentations on Europlanet services to discussions on the latest research in planetary atmospheres. We also dedicate time to community-generated topics and allow members the freedom to steer conversations organically.
Why Attend?
Engaging in these get-togethers offers a unique chance to network, discuss ongoing projects, and even collaborate on new ideas. This is your chance to get involved with the largest planetary science community in Europe.
How to Join?
Simply become a member of Europlanet Society’s Discord server and you’ll receive notifications for each get-together. To join the server, visit our membership website here.
The HORIZON R&D partnership, involving five industry organizations representing the whole supply chain, was launched in June 2021 along with other eleven research partnerships. However, long-standing strategic and political interests relating to space got in the way and Member States opposed the partnership. Following that, the Commission had to renegotiate.
This has resulted in a reduction of the scope, with the partnership now limited to the three areas of commercial telecoms, earth observation, and future space ecosystems.
What is more, the budget has been drastically reduced, from an initial €1.4 to €2 billion to €150 million for three years. With a new budget and smaller scope, partners now need to prepare a new strategic document for the partnership to replace the previous, more ambitious one, not an easy task though.
The full programme of the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022 is available on the meeting website. Registered conference participants, including registered media attendees, will be able to access recordings of the scientific sessions on the relevant pages of the programme. The recordings will be added 7-10 days following EPSC2022 and be available for one year.
Press Briefing on Monday, 19 September 2022s
ESA Hera Mission: Investigating binary asteroid (65803) Didymos and the DART crater 14:15 CEST / 13:15 BST / 08:15 EDT
One week ahead of the impact by NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft with the asteroid Dimorphos, representatives of the European Space Agency’s Hera mission, the Italian LICIACube mission and DART will present an update for the media.
Speakers:
Michael Küppers, Hera Project Scientist, European Space Astronomy Centre
Andy Rivkin, DART Investigation Team Lead, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
LICIACube Team representative (TBC)
Solar System Observations with Webb 15:00 CEST / 14:00 BST / 09:00 EDT
Speakers:
Geronimo Villanueva, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Ann-Carine Vandaele, Institut royal d’Aeronomie Spatiale de Belgique
Giuliano Liuzzi, University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy
The Europlanet team has been taking part in a number of meetings and events over the past few weeks. For the first time since 2019, the Europlanet banner stand has been on display in exhibitions at conferences, including the European Astronomical Society (EAS) Annual Meeting and the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF).
EAS 2022, which took place in Valencia from 27 June – 1 July, was attended by close to 2000 people, with 1700 participating in person. An eight-strong team from the Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure (RI) took part in the meeting, crewing a stand and presenting Europlanet activities on mentoring, the Europlanet Telescope Network, outreach and global collaboration. Europlanet was joined on its stand by its sister EU-funded project, EXPLORE, which is developing machine learning tools to exploit planetary and space data, as well as Planets In A Room (PIAR), the low-cost spherical projection system developed by Speak Science and INAF with Europlanet funding. The team talked to several hundred people over the course of the week, and distributed copies of the latest issue of the Europlanet Magazine, as well as stickers and leaflets.
ESOF 2022, held in Leiden from 13-16 July, was the tenth edition of the largest European interdisciplinary science conference. Europlanet organised a session ‘To Mars and Beyond’ in Pieterskerk, attended by around 50 delegates, on July 14 and took part in the exhibition throughout the meeting, giving participants and opportunity to hold some real rocks from space
Europlanet Society Statement of Support for Ukraine
Dear Colleagues,
The news of the outbreak of war within the European continent is undoubtedly shocking to us all. Europlanet has established many collaborations with Ukrainian scientists, especially through the three facilities in the Europlanet Telescope Network that are located in Ukraine.
We express our solidarity with the Ukrainian people in general and our colleagues in the planetary science community in particular, and condemn the invasion by Russia in the strongest possible terms.
Science is universal and demonstrates the best traits of humanity, the ability to collaborate and form a ‘family’ working without borders, each member being respected for their skills and knowledge, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, gender, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marital status, age, nationality or socioeconomic background. When members of our family are attacked, we grieve together.
Europlanet is exploring all possible ways to provide practical help to our Ukrainian colleagues, particularly those who have been forced to travel into other European countries. For displaced colleagues needing support to travel within the EU, Europlanet can offer bursaries and mobility grants (please contact ukraine@europlanet-society.org). Members of our community, including the Austrian Academy of Science, the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, have provided an excellent example by setting up support schemes for scientists in Ukraine to apply for a research stay to be able to continue their research. We urge you to discuss options with your own institutions and to contact your parliamentary representatives and governments to see what initiatives to support Ukrainian colleagues can be implemented, and to help us share details with the community.
Collaborations with Russian research institutes and researchers will undoubtedly now be restricted, despite years of joint ventures (for example on the ExoMars mission). Many of us have long standing links and personal friendships with Russian scientists. However, we strongly support the sanctions that are being implemented to try to stop the war and loss of life.
We show our solidarity with everyone that has spoken out against the Russian invasion, and we urge members of the Europlanet community to take all possible efforts to show support for our Ukrainian colleagues and help to bring an end to this war – something that we all hoped would never be seen again in Europe.
Astronet – Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap for Europe
Over the last year, a number of expert panels have been working on draft sections of a new Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap for European Astronomy, created by Astronet.
Astronet is a consortium of European funding agencies and community bodies, originally funded by the EU, which produced the original Science Vision and Roadmap in 2008 and its revision in 2015. It includes as observers ESA, SKAO and ESO as a full member, along with the European Astronomical Society.
The Science Vision aims to deliver a statement on the current status of our science, along with the needs for its future development; to inform those who fund and direct this exciting and important science area within Europe. The report is organized by science areas, with one panel covering Understanding the Solar System and Conditions for Life and another the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems. There are two cross-cutting chapters on computing and on societal aspects ( skills, sustainability, public engagement, diversity).
While the drafts have been available on the Astronet web site since the Spring for comment and there has been a community Webinar, we have not seen much comment from the Planetary Community. The aim is to publish the report by Easter 2022, so there is still time to comment and your views are really important to ensure the outcomes are inclusive and representative.
Europlanet Society Webinar (8 September 2021): Applying for a Research Fellowship
The first step towards developing an independent research career is to secure your own Fellowship, in which you can develop your research ideas and even your own research team.
There are a multitude of national and International research funding opportunities aimed at providing ‘the best early career researchers’ with personal Fellowships, including the famous Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowships and the European Research Council grants. All these schemes – national and international – have common criteria: namely that they wish to identify and support the best young talent and those with the potential to be leaders in their field.
So how should early career researchers prepare such a proposal and show that they have the ability to be an independent researcher and future leader in the field?
In this webinar, Prof Nigel Mason (President, Europlanet Society) describes how to write a Fellowship proposal and assemble the evidence that provides the referees and selection panel with the information they need to award you a Fellowship.
Nigel is joined by Prof Ilko Bald, who successfully applied for an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2018. Ilko is currently Professor of Hybrid Nanostructures in the Department of Physical Chemistry at the University of Potsdam in Germany. His research is concerned with nanoparticles, synthesising nanostructures and using them for studying different applications and processes e.g. optical spectroscopy and the interaction of nanostructures with radiation.
Europlanet Society Webinar (28 July 2021): Horizon Europe – what’s in it for me?
Members of the Europlanet community have been highly successful in being awarded grants under the European Commission’s previous Framework and Horizon 2020 programmes.
In June the EC launched Horizon Europe, its new and highly ambitious research and innovation programme that focuses on several themes. Faced by, literally, thousands of pages and PowerPoints it is easy to be overwhelmed and not spot the calls that are relevant to you and our planetary (and space) community. However, there are opportunities and calls the planetary science community should (indeed must) apply for.
In this specialwebinar for Europlanet Society members, our President Prof Nigel Mason will give an overview of Horizon Europe and highlight some calls for 2021-22 that are relevant to the planetary and space exploration community.
The ‘supermoon’ on 26th May was the closest Full Moon of this year. To mark the occasion, Edu INAF and Europlanet 2024 RI challenged the public to observe and portray our satellite. Participants in the SuperLuna Challenge were given free range to use their creativity to represent the Moon in its different phases through photos, videos, drawings.
Federica Duras of INAF says, “In fact, the over 40 works submitted, together with those collected through social media, give a multifaceted portrait of the Moon, many of which were shown during the live event in May of “Il cielo in salotto”. We’ve seen the Moon peeping shyly out from the dark foliage of the trees of Wales, soaring scarlet above the towers of a medieval castle in the Roman skies, or sleeping under the wing of Venus in a colorful Virginia sunset. Thank you to all participants for having been able to respond to such a challenging test combining science and art and encouraged us to keep our noses up, to admire, once again, the many faces of the Queen of the Night.”
The winning image comes from Vicenza, Italy, from the balcony of Roberto Vaccaro’s home.
April 2021 Superluna. Credit: Roberto Vaccaro
Four works also deserve a special mention:
The work of the students of the school Fabio Filzi (Laives, Italy) who, with the guidance of their teachers, took a beautiful photo emphasising the lunar seas and craters.
The stunning and extremely realistic Moon in black and white pencil sketch by Mary McIntyre:
This drawing by William is made up in red, yellow and bright as the Sun. (SuperBright Moon. Credit: William Rizzi).
The Supermoon drawn by Elisa and her little brother Francesco has a Supersister with whom to play at piercing the darkness. (Super Luna con mantello e Superluna in compagnia. Credit: Elisa e Francesco Oliverio).
Luca Nardi Interviewed Roberto Vaccaro about how he achieved his winning photo:
Roberto Vacarro, winner of the SuperLuna Challenge
Roberto Vaccaro, congratulations on your amazing photograph of the Moon. Where did you take it from?
Thank you very much, the news of the prize was really a surprise! I took this photo from the terrace of my house: fortunately in order to shoot the Moon, especially when it is so bright, there is no need to move to isolated locations in search of dark skies.
And what instruments did you use?
I used a Newtonian telescope with 130mm aperture and 900mm focal length. I then connected a direct-focus mirrorless camera, so that the telescope acted as a lens for the camera itself. For the image I used the high-resolution method (which is used to shoot celestial bodies such as the Moon and planets) creating a video in 4K, from which I then extracted the individual frames. Next, I overlapped them with a processing program to eliminate noise and the distortions due to atmospheric turbulence: so I got the final image!
Was it more or less difficult to take a picture of the Supermoon compared to a normal Full Moon?
It is not more difficult, because the Full Moon is always extremely bright. However, for this reason a little care is needed because there is the risk of overexposing the photo (making it too bright), thus reducing the contrast effect of the lunar seas (which are the darkest regions of the Moon) and the details of the craters.
How was your passion for astrophotography born?
I have always been fascinated by astronomy and observations with a telescope, but my passion for astrophotography was born because I wanted to see celestial objects (such as nebulae and galaxies) that cannot be seen with a simple observation with the naked eye since they are too dim. They can reveal all their beauty thanks to a telescope, a camera and sufficiently long exposure time.
ESPAS (European Strategy and Policy Analysis System)
ESPAS is an inter-institutional collaboration among the officials of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, and the European External Action Service, with the support of the Committee of the Regions and of the European Economic and Social Committee, which monitors global trends and offers strategic foresight to the EU’s decision-makers.
For information and resources, check the ESPAS website.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission’s science and knowledge service with a mission to bring science and knowledge into EU policy making, has made available the Science for Policy Handbook. The handbook is dedicated to researchers and research organisations aiming to achieve policy impact, and provides advice on how to bring science to the attention of policymakers, not just in the EU context. The book is available on this site, which also provides useful information and material on related topics, such as Evidence-Informed Policy and Science Diplomacy.
Europlanet supports evidence-based policy, informing policy makers on the scientific, industrial and socio-economic impacts of planetary science, at European and national level. Europlanet is also engaging with the planetary science community raising awareness of political developments and encourages its engagement with policy makers and industry across Europe.
Since 2010, Europlanet has had an active programme of engaging policy makers with the cutting-edge science and technological challenges of planetary science and exploration. We have organized one-to-one briefings, dinner debates and other events aimed at Members of the European Parliament, European Commission officials and key industry and policy groups.
Resources
Check out the Europlanet Society policy briefing sheets, the Science for Policy Handbook, and ESPAS (European Strategy and Policy Analysis System).
The #InspiredByOtherWorlds Arts Contest has received 72 submissions artworks from artists, planetologists, space enthusiasts, and children from Europe, Asia, the US, and South America. This contest led the imagination of our participants on a voyage through our Solar System and planets around distant stars.
We are excited to announce its virtual award ceremony that will gather all participants and will share their inspiring artworks. At the ceremony 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes in Youth and Adult Categories, and three Public’s Vote Youth, Adult and Overall prizes will be given. You can see all the artworks in the gallery.
The ceremony will be held virtually on the 22nd of December 2020 at 16.00 CET. If you are not a participant but you want to attend the virtual meeting and learn who the winners are, you can contact us (stavro.ivanovski <at> inaf.it) to get the details of the meeting.
Amateur observations to support Parker Solar Probe flyby of Venus
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will flyby Venus on 11th July 2020. The mission will obtain observations of Venus that will be coordinated with the Akatsuki mission (JAXA), currently in a long eliptic orbit around the planet.
Scientists studying Venus have requested amateur observers to help by providing ground-based data on Venus’s atmosphere to put the mission data into context. This event will be followed up with a campaign of observations in July, August and October in support of the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo Mission, which will flyby Venus in October 2020.
The Europlanet Telescope Network is supporting a campaign to provide amateur support for these flybys and we are actively requesting Venus observations from the amateur community.
Europlanet 2024 RI has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 871149.
Europlanet AISBL (Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif – 0800.634.634) is hosted by the Department of Planetary Atmospheres of the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Avenue Circulaire 3, B-1180 Brussels, Belgium.
